Ok, two weeks into my Aussie vacation and my lackadaisical blog entries have resulted in me blurring all the events together. I usually pride myself on my memory of events, but I can't even remember what day I did things. So instead, you're getting the greatest hits version of Melbourne. I do remember my trip to the Great Ocean Road very well. It was one the highlights of my trip. To begin, I had to board the bus at 7:15 AM. It was great that they picked me up at my hotel. I was exhausted from the night before and so as soon as I was on the bus, I was asleep pretty quickly. Fortunately the trip down to the Great Ocean Road took about two hours, so I was able to get a few winks in before I needed to see anything. Our first stop was really not very interesting. It was more of a pee break than anything else, but the driver did make some billy tea. Billy tea is tea brewed in buckets. He also served Vegamite on crackers which I avoided like the plague. Vegamite tastes like tar. Fortunately he had something called Lanny cakes that were little tea cakes with coconut. Since I didn't have time for breakfast I scarfed a few of them down.

After tea we entered the Great Ocean Road. The road was built by soldiers in the earlier twenties and took years to build. It wraps the coastline and offers spectacular views. We were on a double-decker bus, and since the driver who picked us up told the early bird passengers to sit on the left-hand side of the bus, I had a prime viewing spot. It was also a scary spot because as the road twisted upwards, the bus clung precariously to the edge. I grasped the seat in front of me on several occasions as I saw the terrifying abyss below us. The weather that day wasn't great, so the ocean wasn't as brilliant as it should've been. The driver insisted that the weather would clear, but I was doubtful. Fortunately, as we pulled into the parking lot to view The Twelve Apostles, the clouds parted and the sun came out. The Twelve Apostles are a series of twelve rocks that were part of cliff face, but then the sea eroded the land around them, so that they now stand like sentinels along the coast. And unfortunately there are no longer twelve of them. Four have since dropped into the ocean. You can't really see the Apostles from the road. You have to park and walk under the highway, and then along a path that leads to the cliff's edge. Suddenly they come into frame and they are breathtaking. Massive red rocks rising up from the sea. I believe it was one of the greatest of views. There is a path that runs the length of the cliff face and you can get amazing views of the sea, the Apostles, and the cliff face.

Our next stop took us to a set of stairs that were carved into the cliff face. There were 104 steps leading down to the sand. I braved the steps and walked down to the ocean. When you get to the bottom, the cliffs tower over you. The different colored striations of rock were beautiful. Walking back up the 104 steps wasn't easy. The steps were high and uneven. Also, it was very hard to pass people coming down since the steps were so narrow. I made it up ok, though quite out of breath.

After the steps, we went to a gorge (pictured above) as well as a natural stone bridge that has also collapsed. The views from the gorge were even more spectacular than the Twelve Apostles. I was able to walk down more steps to a private cove and view the narrow opening that led out to the sea. The driver told us a story about a ship that wrecked in this gorge and only two survived the wreck. They had to climb out of the gorge to get to safety. Not quite sure how they achieved that feat since the walls rose to scary heights.

The gorge was the last stop on our trip. We then had a three hour ride to get back to Melbourne. We had left the city at 8 AM and we wouldn't return until 8 PM - a long time to be on the bus. And the driver talked the entire time. The only time he didn't talk was on the drive back as he showed this dreadful movie filmed in Australia. I thought I'd sleep immediately, but no such luck. I ended up watching that terrible film.

Overall it was an amazing trip and one I would recommend to anyone visiting Melbourne.